Disclaimer:Lots of wonderful pictures were taken this Christmas...not so many with our camera.
We had a wonderful Christmas! A white Christmas! Of course, this was the first year in eons SC had a white Christmas, but we drove 15 hours to WI for it :) Really we drove for a rare chance to spend Christmas with a large family gathering of Buckinghams, and it was well worth all 15 hours! First, we started with a bit of a hiccup. 2 weeks before we left, John had a fever for a few days. Bummer, but nothing else seemed to be wrong. He complained about his foot a bit, so I thought maybe it was the achy flu. It went away (although he missed his Christmas program at school because of it), and we went along as usual. Sunday before Christmas he started complaining about his foot hurting again. I thought maybe he had dropped something on it. Monday after nap time he was crying and said he couldn't get down the stairs. I walked upstairs to find his foot hugely swollen and purple! I had a moment of panic thinking it was broken until I realized it was the other foot. We took him to the doctor (Buck was such a good husband and met us there). The doctor wasn't sure, but wanted to see him again in the morning and send us to the hematologist since we were due to leave Tuesday night. We spent the next morning with this doctor and that and got a diagnosis of HSP (Henoch Schonlein Purpura). It's an autimmune something or another that comes as a result of fever or infection, then works it's way away. All of this to say, through the trip and over Christmas, John was limping and/or crawling around because he couldn't bare weight on his swollen foot, and he had awful rash-looking bruises covering his legs. He wasn't bothered except by the swelling in his foot and he was really a trooper! The first day I carried him everywhere, but from then on, he didn't want any help. And he STILL managed to keep up with his cousins...even in the snow!
So, we drove through Tuesday night to Wisconsin and Wednesday morning met up with all the Cushmans, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Greg, Uncle Rob, Kalob, and Grandma and Grandpa Bucky. What a gathering! What a treat! The kids did great the entire trip, in the car (thank goodness for portable DVDs!) and while we were there. They had so much fun playing with their cousins, they're still talking about it! Actually, David had given John a Bumblebee transformer. John said today "I think why David gave me his Bublebee is because he loves me so much." John was right, and you really can't get much sweeter. SO, this post is supposed to be about Christmas. Our first big event was opening a surprise from Aunt Sharon. Whoopee cushions (that magically re-inflate, awesome!) and silly string. That provided hours of immature entertainment for all of us!
You can kind of see the excitement on David's face back there.
Next, since there was lots of snow, the kids opened early Christmas presents from Grandma Bucky. She made hats and mittens for all three. So fun!
Of course we made cookies for Santa. John did his part to keep Grandpa Bucky out of the chocolate frosting.
Aunt Shannon helped to keep Eve frosting daintily by keeping her wine glass full :)
Grandma Bucky couldn't stop laughing at Eve. Apparently she's forgotten, at two, how much frosting actually makes it to the cookie. Eve is much better at frosting her tongue than a cookie.
Everyone helped to make sure they all stayed in Santa's good graces.
Ellie got in lots of good snuggling. We all played "Pass the Buck". Aunt Michelle was the winner in this shot.
Kalob is getting quite good at the guitar. It was great to get to see him!
Jimmy won Ellie's heart with an orange and purple football. The cousins all enjoyed playing with her, too.
One day we went sledding (I don't remember which). I couldn't find the camera, bummer. I'll have to post from someone else's. We went to "killer hill" and we all had a blast! John and Eve went about half way up with Buck and Uncle Greg. Buck had to use his feet to gain control and so he and his passenger (don't remember which) ended up with snow all in their faces. He looked like Santa! John found a lower slower route that he preferred. Eve kept saying "higher, higher!" The girl has no fear! Eve's favorite part was when Molly (the Cushmans' dog) would chase the sled. The laughed and laughed, and would call her over before we headed down to make sure she'd chase us. We even took Ellie for a few runs down. I think she was sort of indifferent.
Another fun outing was to a hotel with a very impressive light show. It was sort of like Roper Mountain lights, but bigger. The real hit, though, was going inside afterward to the toy train exhibit. They were large colorful trains running around a Santa land that was so fun for the kids to watch. They really loved it and didn't want to leave.
Then, Christmas Eve we had a surprise visitor! Who just came in the door????
SANTA! How fun! He brought teaser gifts for everyone. Fuzzy socks! They were a huge hit!
We had a great Christmas Eve buffet, a nice sing-along and service at the Cushmans' church, and a fairly early Christmas Eve bed time. We had a sleepover at the Cushmans' rather than staying at the hotel, and that was a HUGE deal for the kids.
Christmas morning came surprisingly late for the kids. All of the adults had finished at least one cup of coffee before any of the kids woke up! I guess they got up around 7:30 or 8. Our kids, at least, were exhausted from all the fun they'd been having. Jimmy and John were first.
Santa ate all the cookies! No wonder he's so fat!
Eve took a little more coaxing to get up...until she saw the presents, of course.
Ellie got a Bitty Baby from G.G.
And a really special Clemson blanket from Cristina! She loves it!
Like I said, it was a lot more fun filled than the pictures show. The day after Christmas we swam at the hotel, then left after lunch for a two-day trip home. Once again, the kids were great. There was still a little bit of snow on the ground when we got home. Just enough for a snowball or two.
With all of the fun, family, and presents, it's easy to remember to celebrate our blessings at Christmas. The biggest of all, though, which we most often forget, is the gift of a saviour that loved us so much he became like us in every way, only without sin. He left the heavenly realms. He had trials, celebrations, tears, temptations, limitations, friends, family, presents to open, even a holiday buffet. He had to eat, take baths, love unlovable people that hated him. All of this, to understand us, relate to us, then die for us. I'll never fully understand it, but it's so important not to forget it...to stand in awe, and worship.
Eve stuck with the rake for about 30 seconds, then found a hole that John dug, placed herself in it, and played in the dirt while dodging the hoe.
John really enjoyed it and worked really quite hard. We didn't get a whole lot cleared (mind you, the garden is only maybe 6x12), but what did get done was all thanks to John, and a little bit Eve. He even asked me today if the next time we go outside we could work on it some more. 
John was most proud when he managed to pull up the pepper and tomato plants. He really worked hard on them, and was willing to flex for the camera to show it off. He got all 6 up all by himself. One thing about John, if he's determined, he's got the patience of Job and an attention span way longer than mine. It's pretty amazing how he can put his mind to something and accomplish it. It's also pretty amazing that Eve managed to dodge both ends of the hoe the entire time. It's not why she was wearing the helmet. She still had it on from when she was riding her bike (all by herself! learned to pedal!), but it was probably not a bad idea to keep it on. Hopefully soon during one of these cold rainy days we'll get our little seedlings started. Bring on spring!
